Paper file fastener



Nov. 14, 1950 F. L. INNACELLI PAPER FILE FASTENER Filed March 28, 1946Suva-N56 Finn/r L. fnnace/h' a Patented Nov. 14, 1950 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE PAPER FILE FASTENER Frank L. Inna'celli, R d Bank, N. J.Application March2 8, 1946, Serial No. 657,735

2 Claims. (01. ,24-153) v (Granted under, the act of March 3, 1883, as

- 1 The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by orfor the Government for governmental purposes, Without payment to me ofany royalty thereon. This invention relates to paper file fastenersformed from flexible, non-metallic materials and more particularly to animprovement in the paper fastener disclosed in my pending applicationSe-' rial No. 560,833, filed October 28, 1944, now'Patent No. 2,468,072,dated April 26, 1949.

' In the above-mentioned application a paper fastener made of lightWeight, flexible non-metallic material is disclosed, said fastenerincluding a base member with spaced tongues, acompressor plate havingapertures therein adapted to receive the tongues and a separate keeperadapted to grip each of the spaced tongues of the fastener at two pointsand force the tongues into frictional engagement with each other,thereby preventing the tongues from slipping out of the keeper andbinding papers together tightly, with the paper fastener not beingeasily separated.

It is an object of, this invention to provide an improvement in theabove-mentioned paper fastener by providing keeper means comprisingpairs of slots formedas-an integrafp'art of the pressure pl'ate, therebyreducing the number ofparts of the paper fastener and producing aflexible non-metallic paper file fastener that is simple and durable inconstruction, economical to manufacture and efiicient in its operation.v v 7 Another object of the invention is to provide a flexible,non-metallic paper file'fastenerthat is capable of binding paperstogether as securely as file fasteners made of metal and affording thefacilities of ease and speed in using.

With the above and other objects and advantages in view, the inventionconsists of certain features of construction and operation of partswhich will hereinafter be described and shown in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the file fastener ready for assembly;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the file fastener completely assembled;and

Fig. 3 is an elevational view in cross-section of the file fastenercompletely assembled showing the relation of the parts thereof.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the parts of the improvedpaper file fastener are made of heav paper stock such as fiberboard,cardboard or the like and comprise a base I including a bod portion 2having spaced narrow flat elongated tongues 3 and 3' formed integrallythereon and capable of being readily bent at right angles amended April30, 1928; 370 O. G. 757) 2 to the body so as to pass throughperforations 4 in the paper file 5. The novel feature of the presentinvention resides in the pressure plate 6 having spaced pairs of slotsI, I and 8, 8' providing keeper or locking means 9 and 9' as an integralpart thereof, with the pressure plate 6 being perforated at each end toprovide apertures I0 and I0" which are adapted to receive the tongues 3and '3' respectively on the base I. The'flexible, non-metallic paperbody portion 2 including the tongues 3 and 3 of the base I and thepressure plate 6 of the file fastener may be reinforced b gluing afabric material to the faces thereof, with the compressor plate 6 beingpreferably less flexible than the body 2 and tongues 3 and 3"of the baseI. Each pair of slots 1, I and 8, 8 are formed adjacent to the middle ofcompressor plate 6, whereby keeper means are provided a predetermineddistance from each of the apertures I0 and Iiif at the ends of theplate. The portions of the plate 6 between slots I, 'I and 8, 8 providetransversely extending bars I I and II re s'pectively,'which are raisedfor permitting the tongues 3 and 3 to be threaded thereunder.

The compressor plate '6 is stamped out of,

fiberboard or ther similar material in one operation, which results inthe plate having the apertures Ii! and Iiiand the pairs of slots 7, Iand t, 8 or a total of two apertures and four slots, with the pairs ofslots I, 'I and 8, 8 and the raised keeper bars I I and I I therebetweenproviding keeper means 9 and '9' for holding the tongues 3 and 3' in amanner to be hereinafter described.

When applying the device comprising the present invention, the base I ofthe file fastener is laid out flat, with the tongues 3 and 3' bentupwardly at right angles thereto. The file of papers 5 which havepreviously been punched at proper intervals forming the perforation 4 toreceive the tongues 3 and 3' is then placed on the base I, thereupon thecompressor plate 6 is placed on top of the file, with the tongues 3 and3' extending through the apertures I0 and It! in the ends of thecompressor plate. The tongue 3 is then bent over to the right bypressing it fiat against the portion of the pressure plate between theaperture IE3 and slot 1 thereof, with the tongue 3 facing away from thecenter of the compressor plate, and the end is then passed through theslot i of keeper 9, thence under the raised keeper bar II to the slot I,through which it is fed upwardly. The free end of tongue 3 is then bentback upon itself over to the left I2 a 3 and fed downwardly through theaperture Ill, thence under the left end of the plate from where itextends, lying fiat against the upper surface of the paper file 5. Thefree end of the tongue 3 is then bent over to the right by pressing itflat against the upper surface portion of the pressure plate 6 betweenthe aperture 50 and the slot 8 of keeper 9, thence under the raisedkeeper bar I I thereof to the slot 8 through which it is fed slightlyupwardly. In order to secure the file fastener, the tongues are pulledtight in opposite directions until the file is bound tightly. The freeend of tongue 3' is then bent back upon itself over t the right at I2and fed downwardly through the aperture l, thence under the right end ofthe plate from where it extends, lying flat against the upper surface ofthe paper file 5.

As-a result of this operation the tongues 3 and 3' will extend inopposed relation to each other L toward the ends of the compressor platefrom keepers 9 and 9' and in loose relation thereto. To secure the filefastener, the loose ends of the tongues 3, 3', are pulled tight beforethe tongues are bent back upon themselves over the bars II, I I untilthe paper file is bound tightly.

It is apparent from the foregoing description and Fig. 3 of the drawingsthat the tongues 3 and 3 are each firmly gripped by certain of theelclges of slots I, I and 8, 8 of the keepers 9 and 9' respectively,together with the gripping action of the raised keeper bars II and Hbetween the slots as they are pressed downwardly by drawing the tonguestaut and by bending the tongues back upon themselves, with the ends ofthe tongues again passing back through the apertures l0 and Ill andextending under the ends of the pressure plate 6. In this manner thefile fastener binds the papers together tightly and is not easilyseparated.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a novel and efficient formof file fastener which is well adapted for the purpose intended. Eventhough there has herein been shown and described certain features ofconstruction and operation of parts, it is nevertheless to be understoodthat various changes can be made therein if the changes do not departfrom the spirit or scope of the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and wish tosecure by Letters Patent 1. A paper file fastener assembly comprising,

in combination, a base member provided with spaced terminal tongues, anda compressor plate cooperating with the base member and provided withapertures adjacent to its ends arranged to receive the tongues, andhaving a plurality of pairs of longitudinally aligned openings locatedon either side of the transverse center line of the compressor plate,and keeper bars formed integrally with the compressor plate and raisedabove the surface thereof, the keeper bars bridging the plate betweenthe pairs of aligned openings, the tongues projecting through the saidopenings beneath the keeper bars and bent back upon themselves over thekeeper bars and projected through the end apertures in the compressorplate.

2. A paper file fastener assembly comprising, in combination, a basemember provided with spaced terminal tongues, and a compressor platecooperating with the said base member and provided with end aperturesextending transversely of the plate and in spaced parallel relation withrespect to each other, pairs of transversely extending, parallel andadjacently spaced slots located in'the compressor plate on either sideof the transverse center line thereof and intermediate the endapertures, and keeper bars formedintegrally with thecompressor plate andraised above the surface thereof, the keeper barS bridging the platebetween the adjacently spaced slots of each pair thereof, the saidtongues on the fastener bar being threaded through the slots beneath thekeeper bars and bent back upon themselves above the keeper bars andprojected backwardly through the end apertures in the compressor plate.

FRANK L. INNACELLI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references areof record in the Q file ofthis patent: V

UNITED STATES PATENTS 434,525 Great Britain Sept. 3, 1935

